Guthrie was heading to arbitration with the Orioles and the two sides were not close, which may have pushed the club to make this move.

The trade really doesn’t make the O’s any younger or save them any money, so it’s hard to understand exactly why they made this trade.

Some industry sources claim that the Orioles were unable to find a better trade the past few months and just had to take whatever they could get.

It will certainly make things interesting come Opening Day since the O’s no longer have an obvious starter for the first game of the season.

Buck Showalter, among other Orioles personnel, were in attendance at a batting cage session that was also watched by baseball people from other clubs.

The Orioles are still looking for a designated hitter and will definitely have to fill that hole now that Luke Scott signed with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Part of the problem with Ramirez is that he is suspended a big chunk of the season for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

It’s also unknown how much those drugs helped him throughout his career, so he may be a shell of his former self.

GM Dan Duquette believes the team could complete a couple trades in the near future based off of conversations he had at the Winter Meetings.

He has made it clear that the team will most likely improve the roster and fill openings through trades and not free-agent signings.

The O’s continue to rumored to be after Prince Fielder, but Duquette has shot down such speculation several times.

It seems more likely that the team might make a play for Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd or free agent Edwin Jackson.

Owner Peter Angelos and manager Buck Showalter are the point men in the interviews, with the lawyer leaning heavily on the skipper’s advice.

Showalter has the ear and trust of Angelos and is expected to take on a bigger role with the club, though he will remain manager and will not move into the front office.

Many in the industry believe the O’s need to go against their usual hire of an older, more established baseball guy and try to hire the next big name.

Tony LaCava is a name that continues to come up thanks to his impressive work with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, and he may be the favorite at this stage.

The O’s played one of the toughest schedules in all of baseball in September and spent much of it being a real pain for many of the contenders in the American League.

The Orioles put up a strong fight against Detroit, New York and Tampa Bay, and boy did they ruin Boston’s season.

The Orioles took three of four in Fenway Park before winning two out of three in the final series of the year at Camden Yards, knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs.

It was a very small consolation prize for the Orioles after such a disappointing season, and it is expected to be a very busy offseason.

The details about his death have only made things harder on the organization, as the team was shocked to learn that he committed suicide by shooting himself in the face.

With rumors flying about the reason behind his suicide, the organization has taken shots from local and national media alike.

Some have suggested that Flanagan killed himself because he was depressed over the way his time with the Orioles as general manager had ended.

Message boards have heated up with various versions of that rumor, going in more detail and rocking the organization to its core. The team will honor Flanny with a patch on their jersey for the rest of the season. 

Gregg was suspended for his role in a bench-clearing brawl with the Boston Red Sox.

The pitcher was not pleased with the suspension, miffed that he got the same number of games as David Ortiz, who charged the mound.

Ironically, Gregg’s three-game suspension coincides with a three-game series against the Red Sox.

It seems the two teams have cleared the air, at least through the first game, as there were no issues between them.

Scott had been playing with the torn labrum for much of the season but recently re-aggravated the injury.

The Orioles are hopeful that they can sneak a few extra days of rest in for Scott with the All-Star break just around the corner.

Scott will have the injury looked at further to determine the next course of action, which could include season-ending surgery.

The slugger has made it clear that he does not want to undergo an operation, but it may be his only choice.

The Orioles actually didn’t play that poorly in Saturday night’s game, but one pitch by Jake Arrieta resulted in a grand slam for the Braves and pretty much all of the offense they needed.

It’s not time to lose faith just yet, but this has the look of another Orioles late season swoon, except this one appears to be starting even before the All-Star break.

For the most part, the hitting has come around, but the pitching has really faltered over the past month or so.

Brian Matusz return from the disabled list turned out to be a disaster, and the Orioles had to deal with injuries to Jeremy Guthrie and Arrieta in the past month.

A lot of fans are already looking forward to Ravens training camp, signaling another ugly and disappointing baseball season in Baltimore.

The O’s overcame an injury to Jeremy Guthrie and some tense moments late to hold on for a 4-3 victory.

Guthrie left the game because of pain in his back after throwing five shutout innings. The O’s have not announced whether or not he will be able to make his next start.

Kevin Gregg entered the game with a two-run lead in the ninth, but gave up a solo home run to Adam Lind to make things interesting as usual.

The Orioles begin interleague play tonight when they travel to D.C. to take on the Washington Nationals. The two teams are still working on playing up the rivalry, which hasn’t taken off quite yet.